There were two Alberts missing at Anfield, so it was a good thing Fernando Torres was available to bring Liverpool's allegedly sinking ship into dock. The striker took a while to hit his stride in this game and at times in the first half he barely looked himself but it was a typical Torres goal that put Liverpool ahead for the first time in this tie and, if the club is serious about this competition, he may yet be able to get his hands on some silverware.

"Fernando has been working hard with the physios, you can see the match fitness coming back and that lifts the confidence of the other players," Rafael Benítez said. The Liverpool manager had nothing to say about Albert Riera's remarks about a sinking ship and an uncommunicative style of management, except that the timing could have been better and the matter will be dealt with internally.

Riera is believed to have been temporarily suspended and told to stay away from the club until next week but there was no sign of Alberto Aquilani either after his encouraging performance against Portsmouth on Monday. The rarely seen Italian has picked up a virus at a highly inconvenient moment, though there is every chance Benítez would have brought back Lucas for this match anyway.

There may have been some justification to Riera's complaints – Benítez himself was critical of his players after the defeat at Wigan – but the Kop made a point of chanting the manager's name at the start of the match and Steven Gerrard also backed his manager.

"He is the manager, he is allowed to criticise the team at the right time," the Liverpool captain said. "The response from the players has been superb and the fans have been fantastic as well."

Merseyside mutual appreciation has its limits, however, and Liverpool have Manchester United up next. Liverpool famously won 4-1 at Old Trafford last season but will have to improve on this performance to hit those heights. While Torres's second made it safe right at the end, there was a nervous final 20 minutes or so when a single goal from Lille – and they had a few chances – would have changed the entire Anfield outlook.

Lille's coach, Rudi Garcia, had a point when he claimed Liverpool had been a little flattered by the final margin. "They were the better team in the second leg, just as we were the better team in the first," he said. "I think 3-0 was a bit harsh on us, not really a fair reflection of the game, though I admit we lacked a cutting edge in attack."

With Torres back and approaching full fitness, that is exactly what Liverpool have again, even if they still boast a strong line-up of good players who somehow seem to have forgotten how to play together. Gerrard is still some way below his normal standard, though it seems all Torres has to do is play to get among the goals. While it was Lucas who won the early penalty that allowed Gerrard to wipe out Lille's first-leg advantage, the determination of Torres was soon apparent, even if he did put a first-half header wide from Dirk Kuyt's cross.

The longer the aggregate score remained level the more hesitant and nervous Liverpool were likely to become. If Lille had realised that, they might have concentrated more on defending instead of being caught with too many men too high up the pitch to leave Torres a perfect opportunity to strike.

All that happened was that Ryan Babel pumped a high ball forward, Rami misjudged the bounce, Torres did not and, once the forward was behind the defender, the finish was a formality. That's what Torres is good at and, though this was by no means a vintage Liverpool performance or a particularly memorable European night, while he is around it would be premature to write off Anfield's season.

Had Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang showed anything like the same composure in front of goal in the 74th minute, before Torres made sure of a place in today's draw with his second, Liverpool really might have been sunk.

As it is, they travel to Old Trafford with a degree of confidence. "If we work like we did today, we can win against anyone," Benítez said. "Fernando is almost back to his best but he still needs more games. I would like to tell you he is still only 50% fit but I think he is closer than that. It will be tough for him at United because Nemanja Vidic is a good player. I don't know if what happened last season will come into it or whether Fernando has a psychologial edge. I will tell you on Sunday evening."